I Will Survive
by Ashley Hammond Astro Yellow
Summary: One Shot: After an attack Ashley is trying to survive. What surprises will the future hold for her?


_Disclaimer: Not mine. pout Wish it was… but I don't have the money yet. bright idea bright smile Want to make donation?_

_Summary: After an attack Ashley is trying to survive. What surprises will the future hold for her?_

**I Will Survive**

"ANDROS!" A scream pierced the air and the comm system.

Stunned, she could only watch her friend's legs give way and her knees hitting the ground painfully. The other girl's eyes never left the view-screen in the small room. The remains of the exploded fighter drifted off into space, hitting other fighters, both friend and foe. One of the friendly fighters seemed to be filled with rage as it raced through the clusters of enemy fighters, shooting them down in blind fury, but it would never be enough.

A dry sob broke through her daze and she turned to her friend again. The girl had broken down, tears spilling from her eyes, forming salty rivers on her cheeks and she was shaking with grief.

Quickly she rushed over to her friend and dropped down next to her to lend her a shoulder to cry on. Reality slowly started to sink in as she held her crying friend.

He would never return again. Never again would he assure her nobody blamed her. Never again would her boyfriend have to face an overprotective big brother. Never again would she hear his laugh. But worst of all, never would her crying friend be presented with the beautiful ring she knew he carried in his pocket at all times, waiting for the perfect moment to ask. Now that moment would never come. He was dead, blown up, killed by an enemy attacking their planet.

As realisation hit, her eyes could not remain dry much longer. Together she and her friend cried until the door to the room opened. The figure appearing looked as bad as they felt. His eyes red and puffy, silent tears still running down his cheeks, his bleach blonde hair sticking up in all possible directions and his shoulders slumped. A light that had always been present in his eyes had left them.

Their eyes met for a brief moment before he joined them on the floor, gathering both of them in his arms and holding them tightly, clinging to them as if they would disappear at any moment.

The three of them cried until their tears ran dry and then they cried some more. It was deep in the night before they moved again. She looked at her boyfriend, noticing her friend had fallen asleep. He nodded to her and let her go so she could get up before gathering their sleeping friend into his arms.

"Let's go home." His voice cracked. "No use staying here any longer."

She nodded and they left. At home he put his friend in bed, drawing the covers up to her chin. Then he joined his girlfriend in their own bed. They knew they wouldn't get much sleep tonight, but they could at least try.

**A week later**

Ashley woke up feeling sick to her stomach. She quickly pushed away the covers and ran to the bathroom. She loathed seeing the toilet this close. Just when she thought she had had the worst of it, she heard footsteps in the hallway.

"Ash? Are you okay?" Zhane's voice inquired as he rushed to her side.

Ever since Karone had left to help out on Tera Venture some days ago, Zhane had been keeping a close eye on her. She suspected Karone having ordered him to do so.

"I'm fine." She muttered, leaning against him. "Just feeling a bit sick, that's all.

"I wouldn't call that a bit, Ash. Why don't you stay in bed today?"

"Zhane, I'm fine." Ashley protested more firmly this time.

With a sigh Zhane helped her to her feet and gave her a one look over.

"Fine, but you are not getting out of this house."

"Zhane…" Ashley groaned in a whining voice.

"That's not going to work on me." He told her sternly, only realising his mistake when he saw tears forming in Ashley's eyes. "Oh Ash, I'm sorry."

He gathered her in his arms and held her close. Ashley's tears soon dampened the shoulder of his shirt.

"It's okay." He whispered, rubbing her lower back soothingly as he held her tightly.

Andros's death had hit her the hardest and she hadn't been the same ever since, constantly changing moods from depressed, to sad, to even more depressed, to very emotional, to downright utterly, deeply, infectively depressed.

"Come on." He sighed, slightly pulling her with him.

He led her to the room he shared with Karone, not wanting to sadden Ashley any further. There he telekinetically pulled back the covers and gently pushed her onto the bed, draping the covers of her while she cried.

"I'm going to get you some breakfast. You just stay here, okay?" He muttered, placing a light kiss on her hair when she nodded.

He soon returned with a tray filled with a light Karovan breakfast, not wanting to upset her stomach more. Ashley shot him a small, grateful smile and sat up a little as he placed the tray on the bed while joining her. He had figured he might as well have his own breakfast up here too, to keep her company.

He almost laughed at the face Ashley made at the food, almost. She had always done that and complained about the way the food looked. She had tasted it, maybe once or twice, but the flavour never quite seem to compare to Earthan food.

It surprised him a little to see her reach out for the food without complaint for once. He watched her nearly wolf down the food he had brought for her, even the things she had once insisted tasted like garbage.

Ashley must have noticed his looks, for she shrugged.

"I guess I'm just hungry for it." She told him.

It puzzled Zhane how someone who was throwing up one minute could be wolfing down food at that rate the next. Shaking his head, he dispelled the thought... for now.

**Two weeks later**

"I don't trust this, Karone, but she keeps swearing she's fine." Zhane sighed to the comm panel.

"And she's been throwing up every morning?" Karone asked, her face thoughtful.

"And at the sight of certain foods, or when smelling certain scents." Zhane nodded.

"Is she around?"

Zhane turned his head when he heard the door being slammed shut and turned back to Karone.

"She is now." He sighed again.

"Tell her I want to talk to her and just leave the two of us, alright?" Karone suggested.

"Fine, but it's not going to work you know." Zhane told her, before getting up and walking into the hallway where Ashley had just hang her jacket and was about to turn to the groceries.

"I'll take care of those, Karone wants to talk to you." He told her.

Ashley didn't say anything, but looked at him suspiciously as she entered the living room.

"Hey Ash." Karone greeted. "How are you doing?"

"I don't know what Zhane's been telling you, but I swear I'm fine." Ashley snapped.

Karone sighed, realising she just had to get straight down to the point.

"Ash... were you... were you and Andros sleeping together?" She asked as gently as she could.

"I don't see what that's got to do with this." Ashley fumed.

"I take that as a yes." Karone sighed.

Ashley closed her eyes and a tear slipped down her cheek.

"Yeah." She whispered, her voice suddenly very softly and withdrawn. "I've never felt so loved in my life."

Karone's heart broke, wanting to take the other girl in her arms while saying the next thing she knew she had to say, but instead she had to shove it in Ashley's face as a possibility.

"And I guess you never used any protection."

Ashley's face paled as she stared at Karone, weakly shaking her head.

"Ash, when's the last time you had your period?" Karone asked gently.

"I... I don't know." Ashley admitted in a whisper, tears slowly creating salty rivers down her cheeks.

"Ash, please let Zhane take you to see a doctor." Karone begged. "If not only for me... For Andros."

A wave of relieve washed over her when Ashley nodded, shaking violently.

"Call me?" Karone requested softly, glad Ashley nodded again.

No other word was spoken. They waved a silent goodbye and for the next few minutes Ashley sat stunned in her chair, unable to move. One of her hands came to rest on her stomach as if it had a mind of its own.

Shakily she got to her feet and stumbled to the kitchen, finding Zhane had put away all the groceries and was now staring into the backyard through the kitchen window. He looked up when she entered and an instant later she was crying her heart out on his shoulder, clinging to him as if he was a lifeline. He didn't say a word as he held her close. They stood like that for a long time, until Ashley drew in a shaky breath and pulled back a little.

"Take me to a doctor?" She requested, tears still pouring down her cheeks.

Zhane didn't ask anything, but silently thanked Karone for whatever she told Ashley. He didn't even bother making an appointment or anything, but immediately ushered her out the door. Their ranger status would assure Ashley got to see whatever doctor they went to the instant they walked through the door.

**An hour later**

Zhane was pacing the abandoned waiting room, silently cursing everyone and everything. What was taking them so long? He prayed nothing too bad was wrong with Ashley. It just wouldn't be fair.

The sound of a door opening made him turn around and he saw Ashley enter the waiting room, looking torn between two emotions, but he couldn't make out which. It only took him a few paces to reach her and hug her tightly.

Her arms wrapped themselves around him, clinging to him again as they had so many times in the past few weeks. She buried her face in his shirt, but for once there were no tears, just deep breaths to calm herself.

Zhane had promised himself he wouldn't ask her until she was ready, but he found he couldn't wait any longer.

"What did they say?" He asked softly, giving her a slight squeeze.

"Andros is not gone." She whispered. "Not completely."

"How...?" Zhane asked puzzled.

Ashley pulled back, and suddenly he was looking at the bright and shining girl he hadn't seen in the past three weeks. It shocked him and yet comforted him at the same time.

"I'm pregnant." She whispered, glee slowly entering her voice. "I'm having Andros's baby."

He couldn't help the smile tugging at his lips and he hugged her tightly. When he pulled back from the hug again and looked back at Ashley's face, she was practically beaming.

"Let's go home." He grinned, keeping one arm around her, guiding her to the door as gently as possible.

Ashley's joyous laughter was music to his ears at the protectiveness her 'brother' showed.

"You're worse than Andros would be." She laughed, a hint of sadness in her eyes, but not enough to extinguish the hope she had just been given.

"How far along are you?" He asked sheepishly as they walked down the sidewalk to their home.

"Three and a half months." Ashley sighed. "I can't believe I didn't think of it earlier. I guess I was too caught up in life to notice I was missing periods."

Zhane shook his head and guided her to the hover car.

"You should call Karone, she'll be ecstatic." He grinned, momentarily forgetting all grief and enjoying the little bit of happiness that was granted to them.

**Six months later**

Karone urged her fighter to go even faster, even though it was already going at top speed. Her presence at Mirinoi's celebration had been cut short by an urgent telepathic call from Zhane, demanding she get to KO-35 right that instant.

By entering the Lost Galaxy, she had lost contact with home for a long time. The first private moment she had after returning, she had called home to tell them she was okay. It hadn't dawned on her how much time had passed until Ashley had walked into view. She had only been five months pregnant before, but when Karone saw her, there was no mistake she was pregnant. Her tummy had swollen a great deal.

Ashley's face had brightened considerably when she saw Karone again, and even more when she looked at Karone's reaction while she told the other she was pregnant with twins.

Now she was in labour, or at least, Karone had concluded that was what Zhane's hysteria had been about, for Karone had promised to be there. Now she could only hope she would be able to keep that promise and arrive in time.

Relief washed over her when KO-35 came into sight. The way from the skyport to hospital was a blur and before long Karone bursted into a delivery room.

"Rone." Ashley moaned.

"I'm here, Ash." Karone replied, sitting down on a chair at Ashley's side and taking her hand, all the while shooting a grateful smile at Zhane. "Everything will be alright."

Ashley moaned miserably and squeezed her hand. She looked at Zhane again, sitting on Ashley's other side, holding her other hand and lending her silent support. He looked exhausted, or completely drained, she couldn't decide, nor could she blame him. They had been grieving Andros's death, then she had left for Terra Venture, leaving him with a very depressed Ashley only to find out it was also a very pregnant Ashley. Then Terra Venture had disappeared without a trace into the lost galaxy, leaving him to deal with his grief or Andros, worry for her and the care of Ashley, having to make sure she took good care of herself, didn't stress or worry too much and didn't overwork herself.

As a doctor entered the room to deliver the babies, Karone silently vowed to make sure both of them got a lot of rest the coming weeks.

Life finally seemed to be giving them a break, because only ten minutes later, the cries of a new born filled the room. Zhane got up and cut the umbrae cord with a sigh. It should have been Andros doing this, proudly taking his son in his arms, not him getting his godson handed to him by the nurse.

He caught Karone's eyes while getting back to his place next to Ashley and handed the screaming boy to her, before taking Ashley's hand again. He leaned close and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Just a little more." He whispered. "You're doing great, Ash. Just a few more pushes and you're beautiful healthy baby boy will have a little brother or sister."

"Boy?" Ashley asked weakly.

"Yeah." Zhane told her with a small smile.

Sure enough, five minutes after the first baby, his cries were joined by a second. Again Zhane went to cut the umbrae cord and took the crying baby from the nurse. He turned back to Ashley. She had sat up against the pillows. Looking sweaty and tired, her eyes searched his, inquiring about the baby.

With a smile Zhane sat down next to her, gently handing her the baby.

"A cute healthy daughter."

Ashley looked down at the girl and tears started to role down her cheeks, carefully stroking the girl's cheek with her finger.

"She looks like Andros." Ashley whispered.

"They both do." Zhane agreed quietly.

"They'll know him. I'll make sure they will." Ashley vowed softly.

"We all will." Karone promised her, still cradling her nephew. "So what are you going to name them?"

Ashley looked taken aback and pondered the question for a moment.

"I'm sorely tempted to call him Andros." She finally confessed. "But it hurts too much to. How about Aindreas and Andraste?"

"Brave and victory." Karone mused.

"I like them." Zhane offered, wrapping an arm around Ashley's shoulder and looking down at the little girl in her arms. "Hey Aste, I'm you're uncle Zhane and I'm going to spoil you and your brother rotten and I your your mommy won't stop me, because she will be doing the same."

Ashley smiled softly at those words, her eyes slowly drooping. Zhane noticed this and sighed.

"Give her to me, Ash. Go get some sleep. We'll take care of them." He told her gently, lifting the now quiet girl out of her mother's loving arms.

Ashley nodded and lay down, softly drifting off to sleep. Zhane and Karone locked eyes. In a silent understanding, they realised things could never be the same again, but they'd make sure the, now sleeping, twin in their arms would be loved like no other and they'd wouldn't let Ashley move out any time soon.

**Seven years later**

Ashley made a face at the dancing lights in the valley. A celebration, five days long, as long as the struggle for KO-35 had lasted. But no word would be spoken about Andros, not a word about what their freedom had cost. It had been like this for the past seven celebrations and she didn't think it was going to change any time soon. She even suspected they had forgotten about Andros.

She could never forget though. Seven years had done nothing to heal the wounds his death had inflicted on her and frankly, she didn't want it to. She had gone to the first celebrations, but when she understood Andros was to be forgotten, she had quickly left, swearing she and her children would never be seen amongst the partying crowd.

"Ash?" A soft voice from behind her asked.

"Yeah?"

"Zhane's putting the kids to bed. The twin is asking for you."

With a sigh Ashley turned around to her sister, a small smile now gracing her lips. If it wasn't for them, she would never have been able to handle it all.

"Well then, I should get those to into bed, shouldn't I?" She replied.

Karone laughed softly and nodded, her eyes gliding to the lights below.

"Just ignore them, Ash. We know better and the kids know too. As long as we remember him, he didn't die for nothing." Karone muttered, coming to stand next to her.

"They just seem so ungrateful when they act like this." Ashley sighed. "They don't deserve the price this freedom cost them."

"Maybe not, but we can't change the past, only the future by the actions we take in the present." Karone told her wisely. "And right now, there are two 6-year olds demanding their mommy comes to kiss them good night."

Ashley laughed and nodded, putting up her hands.

"Okay, okay, I'm going." She replied, starting to the house, forcing herself not to look back at the valley.

Leaving the cool evening air with a sigh, she stepped into the house. Years of memories drifted as ghosts in the back of her mind, from the day they had moved in having decided to keep close to each other for a while to the present day. Never had they ever thought they'd still be living together, even though they had their own families.

The sounds of laughter growing louder snapped her out of her dase.

Upstairs Ashley passed the a closed door on either side of the hall leading to her room and the one belonging to Zhane and Karone, then an open door on her right to the bedroom shared by her nephew and niece. Zhane was putting 3-year-old Cobe to bed while 4-year-old Jara was jumping on her bed.

Ashley had to smile at the girl. Officially the two kids were named Janila and Jacole, but unexplainable Zhane-logic had shortened it to Jara and Cobe and it had stuck.

The door on her left lead into her twins' bedroom. It used to be her bedroom back when they first came to live here. It had been decided they would all have their own bedroom, but within a week Ashley had found sleep in Andros's arms in her room. For two months Andros had joined her in her bed, before Ashley decided to move into Andros's room, arguing her room had been used enough already, in all the ways that that had implied.

Now she was glad for that decision. She didn't think she could have handled it if the twin called the room Andros had called his own their bedroom, nor if she had moved in there after his death.

They were having an all out pillow fight when she opened the door. Ashley had to struggle to kill the laughter in her throat and keep a stern face.

"That's enough you two. Bed. Now." She ordered.

The two children startled at her voice, dropped their pillows and dove into their respective bed. Now Ashley couldn't contain her smile anymore and Dreas and Aste smiled sweetly at her.

"What should I do with you two." Ashley sighed, shaking her head.

"Give us a later bedtime?" Dreas chimed and Ashley laughed.

"You wish." She told him as she walked over to tug him in.

The boy pouted, but lay down anyway, letting Ashley pull the covers over him and place a kiss on his forehead. He turned over to his side and watched her do the same with his younger sister. Then Ashley walked back to the door and placed her hand over the light controls.

"Sleep tight, sweathearts. If you're good, we'll go on a picnic tomorrow." She promised, turning off the lights.

She was pulling the door close behind her, just so a line of light from the hall would fall into the room to function as nightlight, when an alarm seemed to sound in the distance. Ashley frowned at Zhane who just stepped into the hall too.

"What's that?" Ashley asked.

"I don't know." Zhane replied, listening to Karone entering the house quickly and closing the door behind her.

Quick footsteps on the stairs told them something was up. When Karone reached them, she looked pretty spooked. Just as she was about to open her mouth to say something an explosion somewhere close cut her of.

Ashley's eyes widened and she shook her head. Two pair of arms wrapped themselves around her legs and she watched Jara attach herself to Zhane's leg while Cobe had started crying, probably not daring to move. Karone went to get him, returning with him in her arms, sobbing into her shoulder.

"Mommy, what's going on?" A little voice asked from below her.

This brought her back to moving and she crouched down, hugging her children close.

"I don't know, Aste." Ashley replied.

"We need to get outside." Zhane told them when there was another explosion, closer by this time.

Ashley got back up and grabbed her children's hands, pulling them with her down the stairs. Outside fighters filled the air like insects, swarming around and shooting laser blasts at everything in sight down in the valley.

They looked up in horror as a large mother ship descended into the atmosphere. Ashley knew from the gasps beside her, Zhane and Karone had recognized it too. Their peace had been a distraction, a calm before the storm.

An iron fist seemed to wrap itself around her heart as Ashley watched the mother ship open fire. She knew they weren't going to survive this, not this time. A comforting thought entered her, causing a wave of calm to wash over her as she crouch down again to gather her children in her arms and offer them a false sense of safety. They were going to die, there was no running; the planet was being destroyed.

A tear fell down Ashley's cheek as the laser fire closed in on their house. One beam suddenly hit the roof, setting it on fire. Her only comfort was she would be reunited with Andros soon.

"Ashley." A voice called from far away. "Ashley, come on, wake up. It's only a dream."

Slowly her mind seemed to return from wherever it had been and she opened her eyes. Andros's face was hovering above her with a concerned expression. For a minute her mind screamed at her he couldn't be there, since he was dead. Then it drew on her it had just been a bad dream.

"You okay?" Andros asked softly. "You… You don't regret it… do you?"

His voice sounded so uncertain.

"Of course not!" She immediately protested. "What gave you that silly idea?"

"You're crying." He pointed out.

Quickly her hands shot up to her face. Her cheeks were indeed wet with tears. She tried to wipe them away with the back of her hand, but it was no use, the lingering images of her dream kept causing fresh waves of new tears spilling down her cheeks.

The relieve rushing through him took Andros aback. He hadn't known the fear of her regretting the night before had gotten to him that badly. Knowing he hadn't caused her distress put him a little more at ease, and he wrapped his arms around her, letting her cry on his shoulder until she was ready to talk.

He reluctantly let her pull back when she pushed herself away from him to whip her tears away. Then she settled back into his arms, letting the warmth dispel the last of the pain the dream had left lingering in her heart.

She took a deep breath and started reciting the dream, feeling Andros's arms tighten around her whenever she told her part that stabbed at her heart, but it was much more durable to experience from the safety and warmth of Andros's arms.

When she finished, he placed a kiss in her hair, still holding her close.

"I'll never leave you." He vowed her. "I'll never, ever let anyone do something like that to us."

"Promise me something." Ashley whispered suddenly, feeling silly, but needing the assurance.

"Anything." Andros told her, so easily it made her heart flutter.

"If you ever want me to marry you, don't wait around for the perfect moment. It might never come."

A smile appeared on Andros's face and he pulled back, placing his lips on her and kissing her tenderly.

"I promise." He muttered against his lips. "I promise I'll ask you to marry me the moment the idea becomes more than a fleeing thought."

"You've been thinking about it?" Ashley asked surprised.

"From the day I met you." Andros admitted shyly.

Ashley giggled, imagining Andros already thinking about marrying her before they were even truly serious. She quickly put a hand over her mouth when a deep blush crept onto his cheeks.

"I love you." She told him, still giggling a little.

Andros tried to glare at her as best as he could, but the point was lost by the blush and a slight smile tucking at his lips.

"Oh come on, don't be grumpy." Ashley pleaded laughingly.

"Fine." Andros huffed. "I guess I love you too."

Ashley wrinkled her nose at him and a wide smirk broke out on his face. A second later both laughed and Ashley leaned against Andros. With a smile he wrapped his arm back around her and lay back down again.

"Let's catch some more sleep, you _do_ have school in the morning." He whispered.

Ashley grumbled a little, but curled up beside him and nuzzled her face against his chest, making herself comfortable.

Within minutes, the two had drifted back to sleep.

**Two years later**

"Addy." A little girl gurgled.

"What did you say?" Andros asked, surprised, looking at his 11-months-old daughter.

"Addy!" The girl gurgled again, a big toothless grin smiling up at him.

A wide smile appeared on his face and he gently lifted the girl out of her crib.

"Yeah, I'm your daddy." He smiled at her, placing a kiss on her forehead. "And you need a clean diaper." He added, making a face.

The little girl giggled and reached out to touch his nose.

"Addy." She declared again.

"Well, she sure is happy." An amused voice said from the doorway.

Andros looked to see his wife standing there with a grumpy boy perched on her hip.

"Addy!" The girl exclaimed, catching side of her mother.

"Oh, so now she's your daddy too. You're a little back-stabbing sneak." He accused the girl fondly, putting her down on the changing table.

Ashley came over and watched him change their daughter's smelly diaper. Their little girl giggled and squirmed, but was soon sporting a fresh clean diaper and a pale yellow dress. Too absorbed in his daughter, he didn't notice the wicked smile spreading out on Ashley's face.

"Well, I see you're great at changing smelly diapers." Ashley told him sweetly. "Here's another one." She grinned, laying their grumpy son on the changing table and picking up their daughter.

"Cheat." Andros accused her lovingly, placing a kiss on her lips.

"You wouldn't have it any other way." Ashley laughed.

Andros ignored her and turned his attention to changing his son. A few minutes later, when the boy was changed out of his smelly diaper and into some fresh clothes too, he was still looking grumpy.

"Nothing can please you, can it?" Andros told him, tickling his stomach.

The young boy shot him a foul look, before giving in and started squirming and giggling. With a smile he picked him up and held him high up in the air, causing his giggles to grow louder. Andros lowered his arms, placed a kiss on his son's nose and held him close.

From the corner of his eyes he spotted Ashley watching him adoringly, yet with a slightly sad glint in her eyes.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked softly, walking over to her.

"Yeah." She answered softly. "Just remembering that dream. Zhane was good with them, but it's such a relief to see you handling them."

"Aw." Andros teased, kissing her to show he was just teasing. "It was just a dream, Ash. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."

"I know." Ashley told him, a happy glint appearing back in her eyes. "It did tell us not to take this for granted though."

"I'd never take you for granted." Andros told her smiling. "Nor these too, or any siblings they might get."

This caused Ashley to laugh and shake her head.

"Oh, you'd enjoy that, wouldn't you?"

Andros winked at her before starting to walk out of the room.

"These two need food or they'll get grumpy." He told her over his shoulder and Ashley laughed, nodding she followed him.

"Andros?" She called after him.

"Yeah?" Andros asked, slowing so she could catch up with him.

"I love you."

"And I love you too, Ash, more than anything." Andros replied, balancing his son on one arm and using his free hand to catch Ashley's, twining their fingers.

With a smile the two descended the stairs, happy with how their lives turned out in the end.

A/N: Hope you liked it. This fic is dedicated to **Jenny **(**Star Le Faith**) my dear friend and wonderful beta-reader. It's her **_Birthday_** today, so **_WISH HER ALL A HAPPY BIRTHDAY! _**And maybe thanks her for all her efforts making my fics as perfect as she possibly can.


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